Special Report: Rebuilding Fawcett, cementing HOF's future

Hall of Fame, civic and school leaders have a vision to rebuild Fawcett Stadium, the site of the NFL's annual Hall of Fame football game and the enshrinement ceremony, and bring Stark County's crown jewel, the Hall of Fame museum, into a campus setting.

Editor's note: This is the first report in an occasional series examining plans to rebuild Fawcett Stadium and create a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement complex.

While the hallmark of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's multimillion-dollar overhaul is complete, the project isn't finished.

In some respects, it's just beginning.

Hall of Fame, civic and city school leaders have a vision to rebuild Fawcett Stadium, site of the NFL's annual Hall of Fame football game and enshrinement, and bring Stark County's crown jewel, the Hall's museum, into a campus setting.

They say the proposed $23.4 million stadium improvement project will lay the foundation for future expansion — one that could include a conference center and hotel. They believe it also will serve as an economic engine that will benefit the state beyond the estimated $56 million the two-week enshrinement festival already contributes to Ohio's economy each year.

Leaders from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce are asking the state to chip in $10 million for the project.

"This is part of a much grander picture for our piece of economic development in our region," said Stephen Perry, outgoing president and executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Under the proposed project, the aging concrete and rebar foundation of Fawcett Stadium, built in 1938, would be replaced with modern pre-cast concrete. New steel bleacher seats would be installed in the north and south stands, maintaining the stadium's more than 22,000-seat capacity. A brick facade would be built at the entrance that faces the museum. New concessions, locker rooms and restrooms are part of the construction, a timeline of the project shows.

Outside the stadium, the project calls for spending $2.4 million to install a new Hall of Fame plaza that connects Fawcett to the Hall of Fame museum, creating a campus setting. It has not been decided whether officials would seek to close Earl Schreiber Drive NW, which currently cuts through the two facilities.

The project, which includes two phases stretched over two years, does not alter the football field and is not expected to disrupt any football games or enshrinement festivities. Demolition of the north stands, considered the first phase, is slated to begin immediately after this year's enshrinement festival in August.

WHY NOW?

Plans to improve Fawcett Stadium aren't new, Perry said. He said upgrades have been part of the Hall's strategic plan since at least 2007 and have included multimillion-dollar improvements such as a new press box and lighting at the stadium. It is all part of the Hall's "Future 50 Project" that commemorated the first 50 years while also laying a plan for the next 50.

The National Football League has not threatened to move the game and the Hall does not have plans to relocate the enshrinement. In fact, the NFL has increased its involvement by agreeing to bring more enshrinement events to the rest of the country through the NFL Network. This year's class announcement will be seen by an estimated 4 million people on the Fox network, for example. The league deferred comment regarding the reconstruction of Fawcett to the Hall of Fame.

Page 2 of 5 - Dennis Saunier, president and CEO of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, said officials want to make sure facilities here keep pace with the increasing popularity of the events.

"We're being proactive. We are doing what good stewards have to do," Saunier said. "We have this wonderful opportunity communities our size don't necessarily have, and we want to make sure we do everything we can to ensure the next 50 years of excellence."

It's not lost on anyone that Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does not host its own induction ceremony, he said.

"Part of what we want to make sure is we don't give someone the idea or reason not to have the enshrinement here, or not to have the game here," Saunier said. "Think about all the money spent with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the museum aspect in Cleveland. The induction is held in New York. We already have football's and we don't want to lose it. ...

"Do I have a fear (of losing NFL-related events)? I would classify it as a healthy respect of knowing we need to do things in the community to maintain the level that we have been able to put forth over the past 50 years. As a community leader, it's imperative that we look at these not as entitlements, but as opportunities that we need to continue into the future."

'PERFECT STORM'

Local leaders cited a "perfect storm" of events making this an ideal time to rebuild Fawcett:

The Ohio High School Athletic Association's state football championship games are on a two-year hiatus in Columbus and won't return to Stark County until at least 2016. The McKinley-Massillon rivalry football game will be played in Massillon this year. After last year's 50th anniversary enshrinement celebration, the NFL Network wants to expand its coverage of the enshrinement festivities to include the selection process and the Gold Jacket Dinner ceremony.

They also learned from architect, Rodney Meadows, who assesses the stadium's foundation every year, that it would be $5 million cheaper to replace Fawcett using more modern materials than to annually repair the worst areas of deterioration.

Photos of Fawcett's foundation taken last year show exposed rebar, crumbling concrete steps, spidery cracks along the side walls of the north stands and stalactites under the south stands that were formed by calcium from the concrete foundation and water leaking through the bleachers.

Meadows said temporary braces were added last year to foundation columns on the south side for added stability, but a more permanent solution will be needed in the next few years.

"We think the south side needs the most attention," Meadows said. "It could be serious if significant money wasn't put in there pretty quickly."

He said the stadium's deterioration isn't due to neglect, noting that the Canton City School District, which owns the stadium, and the Hall spend roughly $375,000 in repairs each year.

Page 3 of 5 - "It's not lack of maintenance," he said. "This thing is 75 years old ... and it's not enclosed. It's out there in the weather. ... You got your money's worth."

Perry compared the decline to a rickety set of stairs at home.

"You can make those repairs and then they're safe," he said. "But over the years, if you don't make those repairs, then they're not safe."

Both Meadows and Perry insist the stadium isn't in danger of collapsing.

"It is not unsafe and it is not crumbling," Perry said. "It has its challenges. If we were to elect to use the least cost-effective approach that we've been using, that stadium would limp along for another 20 years."

He said the Hall took a similar approach when it updated and replaced its galleries. They didn't have to do the project because the galleries were falling apart.

"It was OK. We wanted it to be world-class," Perry said.

Officials accelerated their plans for the stadium when Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced last fall plans to revive funding for community projects in the state's capital project budget, an allocation that had been suspended since 2009.

Saunier said he held a meeting with leaders from other chambers of commerce in Stark County as well as other economic development officials to discuss which projects should be submitted to the state. He said the group unanimously determined that Fawcett was the priority.

FUNDING

Last month, the Hall and Canton chamber submitted a joint request to the governor's office for $10 million. It will compete with other large-scale projects from Ohio's seven other metropolitan areas, such as a $9 million lakefront access project in Cleveland, a $14 million veterans' memorial project in Columbus and a $3 million project to further redevelop and expand Promenade Park in downtown Toledo. Kasich is expected to introduce his capital budget proposal to state legislators in mid-February for consideration. The soonest the funding would be released would be July 1, which is the start of the next state fiscal year.

Saunier feels confident that Canton's request will be substantially funded. He noted that after receiving some state grant money for the press box renovation in 2008, Stark County was invited to re-apply. However, the state discontinued the capital grant funding process for community projects.

He also said the project should be viewed as a statewide project due to the fact that Hall of Fame events bring visitors from all 50 states and 60 countries to Ohio each year.

Beyond applying for the state funding together, the Hall and Chamber also have taken the lead in raising the remaining $13.4 million. While Canton City Schools owns the stadium, Superintendent Adrian Allison said the district intends to spend money only on the annual maintenance of the facility, which he said more than adequately meets the district's needs already.

Page 4 of 5 - Saunier said the fundraising strategy includes soliciting area foundations, businesses and elected officials, such as county commissioners and Canton city leaders. Perry said the Hall may also seek support from the NFL but prefers to limit funding requests to museum improvements.

Neither Perry nor Saunier ruled out selling the stadium naming rights as an option. Perry said they make seek an arrangement where, perhaps, the corporate name would be combined with the already nationally known name of Fawcett. They also didn't eliminate the idea of studying ongoing streams of funding, such as a lodging or bed tax, which is collected from Stark County hotels and is intended to support tourism.

Perry said the Hall of Fame also could consider taking on debt — as much as $10 million — if fundraising falls short. The Hall financed $10 million of the $27 million for its most recent expansion, and began making payments this month.

"This (project) has to happen," he said. "Fortunately we have strong balance sheets that we could take on additional debt. We haven't nailed down a number, but we had general discussion with our advisers and the number we were talking about is if we needed to borrow another $10 million, would that be a problem? It wouldn't be a problem. Obviously, our fundraising initiative is to minimize the amount we have to borrow."

FUTURE

A refurbished Fawcett may be just the first step toward building an integrated economic-driving facility near George Halas Drive NW.

The Hall's new president and executive director, David Baker, is no stranger to such undertakings. Baker is expected to finalize a $1.6 billion integrated health care village in Henderson, Nev., later this month. That project has been five years in the making.

Baker, Perry and Saunier all acknowledged there are discussions about expanding the Hall's campus to possibly include a conference center and hotel but they say it's too soon to discuss specifics. Baker believes private equity will be attracted to a campus facility. They see the Hall's message — how great players became great by overcoming obstacles — as a message that appeals to corporate America.

"With the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the jewel on this side, and potentially you could have a conference center and first-class hotel, which I think Canton needs ... now you've got a complex like what we did in Henderson," said Baker, who has yet to present his plans to the Hall's Board of Trustees. "That can create a whole lot of jobs, tax base, sales tax and economic development that helps Canton and Stark County. It builds that lighthouse that can shine to the rest of the world."